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I cut the kid's hammocks to 8ft1in long, and make 1.5" wide channels on each end, then bunched and whipped the ends. The length seems like it'll be a good fit for them for a few years, easily.

My one question: it seems like the taffeta fabric harbors a lot of static electricity, how has everyone dealt with this? My gut reaction says rub them down with some dryer sheets. I also think this might deter various flying insects, which wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings.

About the weight rating: I did a bunch of googling and found that the 1.9oz ripstop should be good for 300lbs, but I couldn't find a definitive answer. It does seem to be pretty tough material. I'm not sure what to think about the crinkle taffeta yet; I got the impression it had a very high capacity as well.

I've had ~250lbs (multiple people) in my green ripstop without any issues. Only tested the crinkle taffeta to around 215lbs so far, but with no sign of a limit at that weight.

Added some homemade tree saver straps to the inventory. Bought a 15' cam-buckle style strap that was rated at a working load of 750lbs at the local tractor supply, removed the cam buckle piece, cut the hook off the other end, and chopped it into 4 pieces of roughly equal length.

Then I used my speedy stitcher, like this one: http://www.sailrite.com/Speedy-Stitcher-Sewing-Awl-Kit
and did an X stitch to form loops. I don't suspect my wife's poor singer would like to punch through the thick webbing, much less doubled up. Plus, I use a nice waxed thread with the awl, so it ought to last a while. Note: I'm not affiliated with Sailrite, and didn't even buy my speedy stitcher there (local hardware store), but I did get more thread and some smaller needles there once. Alright folks in my book, they sell a lot of stuff that overlaps this hobby and shipped quick.

Here's what the stitching turned out like (note that I have a fair bit of experience with this sewing method, your mileage may vary..):

A couple test hangs by myself, weighing in around 170 in clothing; the webbing has very minimal stretch and the stitching showed no obvious signs of fatigue. Strap cost around $8, and I got 4 tree savers out of it. Can't complain.

Quick note: ratchet and cam buckle straps are rated for a lower working load than the webbing and hardware can actually take, due to G-forces exerted on them in a brake-stab or crash, where the weight of the strapped load can triple, so I can rest easy (literally) knowing that the webbing itself ought to take around 1200-1400lbs at least, and I'm only at the mercy of my own stitching. I've crashed pretty hard in the hammock after a long day before and haven't seen my weight triple yet!

Oh, by the way, I guess now I can quit hanging my kid's hammocks from large dog leashes.. The sharp eyed folks in the crowd might've caught the pink leash for the pink hammock. Am pretty sure that leash could hold up a car; its double layered 1.5" wide webbing and has what appears to be *zero* stretch. I'd hate to run into a dog that could actually break it. I worry more about the metal buckle mechanism on it than the webbing!

Had $30 and an evening to play, so I decided that with so many recreational type hammocks around, I'd build a stand so I could hang closer to the house, on the north side where the shade is for much of the day.

Material list:
* (4) 2x3x8
* (2) cast/galvanized solid bolt-through hooks
* (2) captive/collared style hooks (no place to get carabiners locally, and these are pretty strong)
* (crapload) 7/64" amsteel blue
* few washers that I already had in the garage
* piece of old yellow rope, not structural, not even used until I take the hammock down
* 2ft of 3/8" all-thread rod that I had in the garage, cut into (4) 6" pieces

I also tried using the stake boom method out in the yard, but couldn't get it to hold to my satisfaction (yet), so I called myself defeated and continued on the porch.

I made a pair of continuous loops, 4ft each of amsteel and used the joist under my deck to secure to: feed the rope down under, hook it with a coat hanger and back up, then pass it back through and its a fairly solid hook point, this is also where the captive-nut carabiner replacement comes in:

The 2x3s got measured, marked, and drilled at what I hoped would be a reasonable height. Turned out a bit too high, but it works great.

The bottoms of all 2x3s got drilled in about 3-4", and each one got a piece of all-thread rod hammered into it to keep the feet in place. Here I show it being used in a wide gap between my decking boards. There isn't much stress on this point, most of it gets referred through the amsteel to the continuous loop/decking joist.

Make two whoopie slings (a bit differently sized than normal) and slip the fixed-eye end over the top of the collapsed end where your eye-hook is bolted through:

The finished product:

The yellow rope is tied between the ends, the ends are leaned slightly "out" from the center, based on the tension of the amsteel down to the joists, and they get pulled together when you lay in the hammock, adding more tension. I plan to take the hammock down before dew sets on it, and the yellow rope just puts a false load in so the uprights don't get pulled down to the ground.

Not exactly high tech, and really not even very elegant, but it sure is comfy.